[Ads-l] "Your Mama" Not in OED

Shapiro, Fred 00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Sun Mar 15 17:17:23 UTC 2026


The African American expression "your mama," stemming from the "dozens" game, is not included in the OED.  Below is the earliest I have found it in print:

1955 Langston Hughes in Chicago Defender 3 Sept. 9 (ProQuest)  When it comes time for him to graduate from the Merchant Marines School, all the head man said was, 'Your mama!' ... If the ain't the dozens, I don't know what is.

Fred Shapiro

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org


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